Dysfunctionality
by silence-of-a-raven
Summary: Everyone needs some sort of family, conventional or not. And maybe a non-conventional family is what the Avengers need. A non-conventional family and a little bit of healing. But strange, that the healing should come when the Avenger's greatest enemy is forced to live in their midst, lips bound and magicless. 'Cause it's easiest to make friends in a chatroom. Loki & Clint-centric.


"_Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them."_  
**-**Oscar Wilde

Oo0oO

"Loki Odinson. You have been called here receive your punishment for your actions on Midgard. Do you have anything to say for yourself before we begin?" Odin's voice boomed around the hall, ringing in Loki's ears. He glanced around the hall slowly. Frigga stood to the left of Odin, a sad, defeated look in her eyes. He felt sorrow that she still cared; that would make this even more painful. The Warrior's Three stood to Odin's right, their eyes judging him, burning holes in his head. He had nothing to say to them.

Thor stood beside his friends, staring at Loki, piercing him with eyes that saw more than anyone gave him credit for. Loki refused to make eye contact, instead choosing to lift his chin defiantly as he stared at the All-Father. "My name is not Loki Odinson. I am not your son."

Odin stared at his adopted son for a moment before sighing. "Loki Laufeyson, then. Do you have anything to say?"

Glancing around the room once more, Loki shook his head. "No."

Odin nodded. "Very well then. We shall proceed. Do you understand why you are here, Loki Laufeyson?"

Loki then allowed a smirk to make its way onto his face. "For destroying Midgard."

"Yes." There was a pause. "But also for your actions on the Bifrost prior to your fall."

There was a silence in the room as everyone remembered the day when Loki attempted to destroy Jotunheim. Loki looked down, refusing to meet anyone's eyes- that had not been one of his better days.

"For what you have done, your punishment must be large." Odin paused for a moment before continuing. "I thought to banish you to be chained to the mountain as I had done before, but your brother," Loki's eyes narrower at the use of the word, "pleaded that your punishment be different, and so I came up with a new one. As you saw fit to rule the mortals, so I now see fit to make you live with them. You will go with your brother and live with these 'Avengers' in their home."

Loki opened his mouth to protest, but Odin cut him off before he could say another word.

"That is not all. You will be stripped of your powers, as I did to your brother before. However, your power isn't just in your magic; you are, after all, rather aptly named Silvertongue."

There was a moment of silence as everyone wondered what Odin would say next.

"I have called upon the dwarves to make for me an unbreakable wire; a wire of magical properties, that will hold your powers at bay. Your mouth will be stitched shut until you have learned your lesson, at which time the wires will disappear. Do you have any last words?"

Loki stared at everyone in the hall. Odin. Frigga. The Warrior's Three. Sif. And, of course, Thor. He had nothing to say to them; nothing that need be said allowed. With an apologetic inclination of his head towards Frigga- his mother?- he shook his head. "I have nothing left to say to any of you."

Odin nodded sadly, sighing. "Thor, take him to the healer's hall to have his lips sealed." And with that finally command, Odin strode from the hall, Frigga following him.

"Come, brother." Thor said. As soon as they had exited the hall, Thor turned towards Loki. "I'm sorry…I had no idea father would-"

"Thor." With one word, Thor's apologies were halted. For a moment he thought his brother understood. And then he saw the look in Loki's eyes. "Thor, I would rather suffer the snake for a millennium than be forced to live with those," he paused for a moment, even more venom creeping into his voice, "with those miserable creatures in silence. You did me no favor, _brother_." The last word, hissed out, felt more like an insult than anything.

And with those words, Loki's tongue was silenced.

Oo0oO

**A/N: I have no idea what an Asgardian trial would be like, so bear with me. This is what I felt it should be like, especially with it being Loki and all. **

**This is unbeta'd.**

** Also, the punishment (the mountains with the snake that spat acid on Loki and the stitching the lips shut) are both things that happened to Loki in Norse mythology. **

**Warning: Angst and chat rooms follow.**


End file.
